B.C.’s best wildlife photos wanted

Whether you’re spending your summer vacation relaxing in your backyard or adventuring into the B.C. wilderness, the BC SPCA wants to show off your best B.C. wildlife pictures.

Amateur photographers can enter the fifth annual Wildlife-In-Focus Photography Contest by submitting digital photos until Sept. 30. The contest is a fundraiser supporting the society’s Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC) on southern Vancouver Island, where more than 2,500 orphaned and injured wild animals are cared for every year.

“With the nation’s greatest diversity of wildlife in our own province, we are excited to help backyard and amateur photographers showcase these amazing animals,” says Sara Dubois, manager of wildlife services for the BC SPCA.

Some of the photos entered in previous contests have been featured in the BC SPCA’s AnimalSense and Bark! magazines, local newspapers and even a book – City Critters: Wildlife in the Urban Jungle – authored by local journalist Nicholas Read.

Prizes will be awarded for the top three photos in each of two categories: Wild Settings and Backyard Habitats. The contest is open to all adult (age 14 years and up) backyard and amateur photographers residing in B.C. Learn more about this year’s contest and see winners from past contests at spca.bc.ca/wildlife-in-focus.

Wildlife includes free-living birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, fish and insects, but not exotic, feral or domestic animals, or wildlife in zoos or rehabilitation facilities.